Tom C Creswell

Botany and Plant Pathology

As Director of the Plant & Pest Diagnostic Laboratory (P&PDL), I am responsible for overseeing daily operations and administration of the lab. The P&PDL is an interdisciplinary lab, taking advantage of technical expertise from several departments in the College of Agriculture to provide diagnostic and identification services to our clients. Our lab serves as the state laboratory for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

My responsibilities include supervising P&PDL staff, and managing all accounts and finances. In my role as a diagnostician I work toward accurate and timely diagnosis of plant disease problems on samples submitted to the Plant and Pest Diagnostic Laboratory, along with control recommendations when requested. I help provide training in disease diagnostics to county Cooperative Extension educators, grower groups and others.

Outreach efforts include timely contributions of disease diagnostic information to newsletters and our website to help keep our clients informed about current problems.